204 DR T. ANDERSON ON SOME OF THE 



chosen to represent them as iodides, simply because it involves less hypothesis, 

 and sufficiently expresses their constitution. 



Action of Soda Lime on Papaverine. 



Papaverine was mixed with about four times its weight of a soda lime, com- 

 posed of equal weights of its constituents, and the mixture heated in the oil bath. 

 At 250° traces of a volatile base began to appear, which increased in abundance 

 when the temperature rose to 300°. After the heat had been continued for some 

 hours, a small quantity of a pungent base was collected in the receiver. It gave 

 white fumes with hydrochloric acid, and with bichloride of platinum a highly 

 soluble salt, precipitated by alcohol and ether in shining plates. A determination 

 of the platinum in this compound gave the following results : — 



f 5*197 grains platinum, dried at 212°, gave 

 ( 1-882 ... platinum. 



This corresponds to 3G 21 per cent, of platinum, and lies almost exactly be- 

 tween the numbers required for propylamine and ethylamine, the calculated num- 

 ber for the former being 37*21, for the latter 35-34. It is probable that the sub- 

 stance analysed actually contained both bases, but from the small scale on which 

 it was necessary for me to work, I was precluded from any attempts to substan- 

 tiate this opinion. 



Meconine. 



In preparing narceine by the process described in the first series of these re- 

 searches, I expected to have obtained it mixed with meconine, in the same way 

 as it had been previously found by Couerbe and other observers. Much to my 

 disappointment, however, the narceine proved to be remarkably pure ; and even 

 after one crystallization, ether extracted from it only a minute trace of a resinous 

 matter, but no meconine. As it could not be doubted that meconine, if present 

 at all, must still remain in the mother liquor from which the crystals of narceine 

 had been separated, the fluid was concentrated and left to itself for some time, 

 but no meconine made its appearance. On further concentration, and standing 

 for some months, granular crystals were abundantly deposited, which proved to 

 be nothing but muriate of ammonia, mixed with a resinous matter. Attempts 

 were then made to remove the amorphous residual matters which abounded in 

 the fluid, and appeared to prevent the crystallization of meconine, and a variety 

 of methods were tried to make it deposit crystals, but without success. 



After many abortive trials, which it is unnecessary to detail, I found that me- 

 conine might be easily separated by agitating the fluid with ether. For this purpose 

 the concentrated fluid was poured into large bottles in which it was mixed with 

 about a fifth of its bulk of ether. The bottles were tightly corked, set in a warm 

 place where their temperature was kept at about 80° Fahr., and frequently shaken. 



